Six Generations of Self-Righteousness Condemned

Proverbs 29:12 condemns an entire generation blinded by self-justification. Joseph S. Exell's Victorian commentary catalogues six species of this spiritual blindness with surgical precision.

First, the self-righteous heathen operates by nature's law alone, dimly illuminated by fragmentary Divine truth filtered through tradition. Second, the self-righteous Jew occupies the precise position of those who rejected Jesus as Messiah—St. Paul's contemporaries persist in every generation. Third, the self-righteous infidel enthrones reason as his only standard, worshipping his own rational religion. Fourth, the man of the world observes religious externals while despising internals altogether.

Most insidious are the fifth and sixth categories: the Pharisee who trusts in his own righteousness and despises others, mixing faith and works in justification; and the evangelical Pharisee—loud in profession, censorious toward the world and humble Christians alike. His faith does not work by agape (love), nor does it purify the heart. Such men lack constancy because grace has never taken root in their hearts.

Exell's taxonomy exposes how self-righteousness transcends mere hypocrisy. It is a generational condition affecting the irreligious and religious alike. The cure requires acknowledging what cannot be fathomed: Elohim's omniscience operates beyond human comprehension. Only humility before Divine power awakens obedience.